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NBA 2K22 — MyTEAM Ascension: Designing for Progression & Reward

  • Writer: Albert Carmona
    Albert Carmona
  • Jun 3, 2022
  • 2 min read

Updated: Jan 14



The Challenge

MyTEAM mode needed a reward mini-game that kept players engaged across multiple play sessions. The game design called for a three-tiered card-flipping system where each level offered increasingly rare rewards but the risk was that the progression wouldn't feel meaningful enough to drive continued engagement.

Goals:

  • Create a sense of escalating value as players progress through tiers

  • Make each tier feel distinct and aspirational

  • Build anticipation through environmental storytelling

My Role

End-to-end design and implementation: UI/UX design, 3D environment creation, animation, and scripting in NBA 2K's proprietary engine. Worked closely with game designers to balance visual presentation with gameplay requirements.

Design Approach

Visual Progression as Motivation

Rather than treating each tier as a simple layout change, I designed three distinct environments that told a progression story:


Tier 1: Street CourtGrounded, accessible starting point - signals "this is where everyone begins"


Tier 2: Luxury ArenaElevated environment showing progress - creates aspiration to reach tier 3


Tier 3: Rooftop Above the CloudsPremium, exclusive space - reinforces the rarity of reaching this level


Transition Design

Added camera animations that literally "ascend" from ground level to sky, reinforcing the metaphor of climbing higher with each tier. The vertical movement created a sense of achievement that went beyond just switching screens.


Implementation

Owned the full technical execution:

  • Modeled and textured all three environments in Maya

  • Designed UI elements and card interactions

  • Scripted user interactions and state transitions in the game engine

  • Animated camera movements and card flip sequences

  • Worked with engineering for game integration

This end-to-end ownership allowed for tight integration between the environmental design and interaction model.

Outcome & Reflection

The feature shipped as a core MyTEAM engagement loop. The environmental storytelling approach became a reference for other progression-based features in subsequent releases.

What This Project Taught Me:

  • Environmental design can carry narrative weight in UI - the spaces reinforced progression without needing explicit UI callouts

  • End-to-end ownership (from concept to scripting) creates more cohesive experiences

  • Visual metaphors (ascending from street to sky) can make abstract systems feel more tangible

 
 
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